Package-display rack.



2 Simms-'SHEET 1.

7 .Znezzr PATBNTBD SEPT. 24, 1907.

JJ L, J

1| li l 1.4i

J. A. DUNLAP.

Ill

PACKAGEl DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED HAY 26, 1906.

PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

` J. A. DUNLAP. PACKAGE DISPLAY RACK.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.-

PAoKAGE-DIsrLAY RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

Application filed May 26,1906. Serial No. 318,393.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ARCHIBALD DUNLAP, of Nashua, in the county ofHillsboro and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Package-Display Racks, of which the following isa specification. i

This invention relates to devices for holding packages of seeds in anupright position, for the purpose of dis- -playing the same, and has forits object to provide a strong and durable rack which at the same timeis of small weight and is adapted to hold a number of packages securely.

The invention consists of a wire frame-work forming a plane backing orsupporting surface and pocket-forming wires which are -connected to theframe-work and extend outwardly therefrom and toward each other, makingpockets in which the packages may be placed and retained.

The invention is described in detail in the following specification, andillustrated in the drawings forming a part thereof, in which,-

Figure l represents a front elevation of a rack embodying my invention.iFig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents aperspective view of a part thereof, Fig. 4 represents aside elevation ofa modied form of the invention.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

The back of the rackis a frame-work of wire having an outer rimconsisting of the top transverse wire a, the longitudinal side wires bc, and the bottom wire d. These members are preferably all formed fromone wire bent into a rectangular outline, but Ythey may, if desired, beseparate wires connected together at the corners of the frame. To thelongitudinal outside wires b and c are connected the transverseintermediate wires e, while to the top and bottom wires a d are attachedlongitudinal intermediatewires f. The intermediate wires have their endstwisted about the outermost wires of the frame, and where they crosseach other at the points g h, etc., are soldered together to make acomparatively stiff and strong whole.

The pockets for the seed packages are made from wires i andj, which arearranged in pairs, each pair together being formed so as to make onepocket. They are secured in place by having their ends twisted about andsoldered to adjacent transverse wires or members of the frame-work,those forming the upper row of pockets being secured to the top wire a,and the uppermost cross wire e, the lower row of pockets being attachedto the bottom cross wire e and to the bottom member d of the frame,while the intermediate pocketforming wires are attached to adjacentintermediate cross wires e.

The shape into which the pocket-forming wires are bent to make thepockets is best illustrated in Fig. 3.

The uppermost portions 'i/ j of each pair of pocketforming wires extenddirectly away from the cross wires to which they are attached, and areseparated by a distance sufficient to permit insertion of a seedYpackage between them. At the required distance from the plane of theframe-work to form the desired thickness of the pocket, the wires arebent toward each other, forming the horizontal transverse portions i2 j2which are in alinement with each other, and extend partially across thefront of seed packages placed in the pocket, as shown in Fig. l, to holdthe latter in place and prevent lateral or forward movement thereof awayfrom the frame. The pocket-forming wires are then bent downward at rightangles to the portions i2 j2, forming parallel stretches which lie in aplane removed from and forward of the plane of the frame-work andpreferably inclined thereto, extending in this direction to'the points7'3 respectively, whence they are bent inward toward the adjacent lowercross wire and there secured at their ends, forming the parallelportions 'i4 j4.

It will be seen that the portions 2'/ j/ are parallel to each other andin a plane approximately perpendicular to the plane of the frame-workback, and they are also parallel to the portions i4 j4. The transverselengths i2 j2 and parallel downwardly-extendinglengths are all in thesame plane, which is separated from the plane aof the back, and theportions i4 j* are nearer together than are the portions i" j. Thus whena package is placed from above in the pocket, it passes between thewidely-separated portions i/ y, while its lower edge is arrested by theparts t4 j4 which are nearer together. These last-named parts togetherwith the yintermediate angularly-offset portions i2 j2 sustain thepackages and also keep them from falling forward, while the parts t" jembrace the sides of the packages and keep them from displacementlaterally. The longitudinal intermediate wires f are arrangedapproximately midway between the wires t' j of each pocket and preventthe packages falling through between the transverse wires of the back.It will be seen that the intermediate longitudinal wires f are on theforward side of the transverse wires e. This arrangement is provided sothat packages placed in the pockets will not be obstructed by the crosswires, but will all rest on the lower portions i4 j4 of the pocketforming wires. If the crosswireswere in front of the longitudinal wiresthe rearmost package would be engaged by them and held above the tops ofthe forward package, but the arrangement described prevents this, andallows the up- .per edges of all the packages in the same pocket to bepractically on the same level.

All of the pockets are formed alike, with the exception of some of thelowermost pockets, which differ slightly, as will be later described.The pockets are placed as closely together as possible so that theportion t" of the left-hand wire i of each pocket lies in contact withthe portion j of the right-hand wire j oi the p next pocket to the left,the lower por-tions 'L4 ji* of adjacent pockets being separated. Thedistance between the abutments i4 j4 of adjacent pocketsA is. less, inthe case of all except the two lower rows, than the height of theseed'packages, while the forward parts oi the wil es t' j are inclinedupwardly andraway from the back b, This arrangement permits greatcompactness, allowing a large number oi packages to be held by a tramewhich is not excessively high. The tops of the packages ineach row are,by reason of this formation oi the pockets, set forward from the planeof the back, and while overlapping the bars oi the'pock'ets in the rownext above to allow convenient withdrawing or replacing, do not hidefrom view the illustration on the packages next above.

In the device illustrated herein, the two lower rows of' pockets aremade wider than the upper pockets, and their iront intermediate portionsare parallel with the plane oi the back. The top lengths t" j/ ofthewires forming these lower pockets are also somewhat differentlysupported, being wrapped about and soldered to additional longitudinalwires f{.

To the upper member a of the trame are hung two or more narrow hooks orclips lc which are adapted to receive and support an advertising ordisplay card Z in position where it can be seen above the rows .otpackages. In order to hold the rack in an upright position, I provide asupport m pivoted to one of the cross wires e and' ormed with twolegs-mf. To the supportis pivoted a brace p which has a hook p adaptedto catch over another oi the cross wires e and hold the legs oi thesupport away from theirame, also to prevent the legs slipping away fromthe frame. The frame may also be hung up against a wall, and for thispurpose I provide a wire hanger r pivoted to one of the uppermost of thecross wires and provided with a loop r which can be slipped over a hookor nail.

In Fig. 4, is shown a modification which is adaptedy to be folded andpacked awayina small compass. In`

this modification the trame is formed in two parts a and a2, each otwhich is complete in itself and has a number of pockets. The two partsare connected together by links a3 surrounding the lowermost cross wireof the upper frame and the uppermost cross wire oi the lower frame. Asmay readily be seen, the two parts ot the frame can either be separatedor doubled together and contained in a small case. This form oi thedevice has a hanger r by which it may be supported from a hook, it notbeing practicable to stand` it upon a supporting surface.

l. A display rack consisting of a Wire frame having transverse andlongitudinaly members, and wires attached at their ends to adjacenttransverse members; said wires being arranged in pairs to form pockets,the wires of each pair between their points of attachment being carriedaway from the frame and bent toward each other, said points ofattachment to the upper member being further separated than thecorresponding points of attachment to the lower member. v

2. A display rack consisting of a rectangular' Wire frame havingintermediate transverse andv longitudinal wires con* nectedy to the.outer longitudinal and transverse wiresvre spectively of the frame; andrpocket-forming Wires ar,- ranged in pairs and attached to thetransverse wires, each pair of such wires forming one pocket, theiruppermost points of attachment being separated sufficiently to admit apackage between` them and their lower attaching points being closer,together to support a package; each pair of said pocket-forming Wiresextending inparallelism away from their upper points of attachment, thentoward each other in alinement, then in parallelism in a plane removedfrom the plane of the frame, and nally extending ytoward the lowertransverse wire to which, they are-attached.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature, in presence of twoWitnesses.

JOHN ARCHIBALD DUNLAP.

Witnesses: v

A. C. RATIGAN, ARTHUR H. BROWN.

